So, I'm getting rid of my Rockford Fosgate Punch 3 12" for a few reasons. Size, weight, SQ are just a few.

I'm looking at either a couple of the Image Dynamic's 8" woofers as I here they perform really well for SQ and SPL and are surprisingly loud for an 8".

I've also looked at the Sundown SA-8 which is also an 8" woofer for a decent price that has good SQ and SPL.

Now if anyone has any suggestions for an 8" sub just let me know. My only fear with the 8" is that it's not gonna have enough SPL to satisfy me and I'm a "if I can still breathe it's not loud enough" kind of person . Granted my 12" doesn't get that loud, but there are some bass line's where I can't see straight.

I am trying to keep the price down, but as long as it's not outrageous ($375+ per woofer) i'm open to suggestions so fire away.

 

No one?

 

Well out of the two you talked about I would go with the sundown sa8. I put one in my ex-wifes car and it sounds awesome on 400 watts. And the box wasn't that huge either, if memory serves it was around 1.15cuft before displacement and 1cuft after. The box is ported and I did a couple videos of the car and it was VERY surprising.

Here is a picture of the box;

And here are the two videos of the sa8;
SA8 on 400watts - YouTube

Hatch flex SA8 - YouTube

Her car is a Kia Spectra5 which is very similar to the Fit though the hatch area is much smaller.

This kind of option would give you a lot more room back, and still give you some pretty good bass, I metered her car at 133.3db at 45Hz on a termlab.

 

Ok that's pretty damn impressive!

I'm thinking about doing a fiber glass box for the oem look and make the most of what little space there is in the trunk as well as trying to keep the weight down. Any suggestions on that? And I've seen ported fiberglass boxes but I'm not sure how well that would work out.

 

I've used some IDQ 6's and 10's in an install years ago and now have 12" IDQV3's in the Accord now and have always liked them. I've heard many SPL cars at shows that rock some sundown stuff but none I've really paid attention to. I will admit that if you are accustomed to SPL type levels than a single 8 may (and probably won't) meet your expectations. I have heard some true bass 8's that pounded but they were in a large quantity.

 

The SA8 is beefy and is NOT a light sub, I would not recommend doing it in a fiberglass box on the side it will be a LOT of weight. This box which I made is as I said pretty small and the output is just awesome. Other than this I would say go to a bazooka tube, because though I have seen someone make a fiberglass box molded to the passenger side of the rear of the car, I can tell you there is no comparison to what that will put out for bass VS this. This will destroy it hands down, and if you want to see what my fit does here are a couple videos.

Little bit of roof flex with second 12. - YouTube

Roof is NOT liking me and the mirror may revolt! - YouTube

 

I think if you go with a 10" you will be happier in the long run. 8's don't have the frequency response that "bassheads" usually look for. You might enjoy it for a month but after that you will be like "where did my bass go?"
With that, here is my offering..
http://www.ddaudio.com/mobile-audio/...00-series.aspx

 

I can tell you have not heard a sundown 8 or a pair of them in the proper ported box with clean power. I am not discounting DD at all, I ran a pair of 3512s back in the day in Street 1-2 in db drag.


However DD imo is now more than ever over priced.

OP - do some searching on youtube for sundown 8, sundown 8s you can find a lot more videos showing these 8s are no joke.

 

I found my original design for that 8 box I showed you, remember this is not 100% on no box program is 100% dead on.

 

How about rocking 2 of the 8's in a ported box? You think it would be good enough for a decent brain rattle? I did look at the SA-8's on youtube. They are some pretty bad little subs. They had a guy with one in a crx pushing 139 db's..

 

I was in similar situation a while back. I was running a single 15" for the longest time, but it was time for a change. Something that was smaller, and weighed a lot less.

I ended up going with the Digital Designs 10" ported box DD Audio: Mobiel Audio | Enclosures | Empty Enclosures
and then loading it with a 1510 series woofer.

The sound is great, and I can still pound it if I need a bass fix
I was able to get a good deal on the box/woofer which made it a no brainer for me. Comparing other popular brands for the same money, it was a no contest.

I would seriously consider a 10" as well. Seems you have your heart set on an 8", but couldn't hurt checkin' out a decent single 10"

 

I'm actually considering an RE 10" now that I've started looking at them. Heard one today in a guys G35 coupe. That thing was out pounding my buddies w6 10" and it sounded cleaner too in a 35hz ported box. It was the SEX series. Thing only weighs 22 lbs means I have about 30 lbs to play with in box weight to keep it right around 50 lbs. Current set up is about 68lbs..

 

Alright so I spent a little time with the box builder. I'm not quite sure if I got it right so I'm going to let y'all take a look at it for me.
Box: andddd you can't read it cause the fitfreak site resized it too small and i'm too lazy to go make a photo bucket or whatever at 4:40 AM....

Box width: 18
Box Height: 12
Top Depth: 14.5
Bottom Depth: 14.5
Wood thickness: .625
Square port Width: 1.25
Square port Length 2: 9
Box Volume(Ft^3): 1.185
Tuned Frequency 33.5293


Woofer Specs:
10" Compact Optimal
Sealed: 0.4 0.65
Ported: 1.0@35Hz 1.25@34Hz
Mounting Depth - 6.4 inch
Mounting Hole Diameter - 9.3 inch
Overall Diameter - 11 inch
Bolt Hole Circle - 10.1 inch
Motor Width - 7.3 inch
Motor Depth - 3.4 inch
Basket Depth - 2.94 inch
Displacement - 0.14 cu. ft.
Weight - 21 lbs.